Washington, DC: The 2.7 million people that hunt or fish in Texas have a tremendous impact on the state's economy. In 2011, these outdoorsmen and women spent $4.1 billion with a ripple effect of $7.26 billion, and supported 65,993 jobs in the state. New data released today by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) documents the importance of sportsmen and women's activities in Texas and across the nation. The state fact sheets follow the release of CSF's national report, America's Sporting Heritage, Fueling the American Economy, that was released in mid-January.

"Many people may not fully comprehend how important hunting and fishing are to the fabric of this country. Yet nationally there are more people who hunt or fish than go bowling, and their spending would land them at #24 on the Fortune 500 list," commented Jeff Crane, President of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. "Sportsmen and women spent $4.1 billion on hunting and fishing in Texas in 2011, which is nearly twice the receipts for cotton, the state's second largest agricultural commodity that year ($4.1 billion vs. $2.3 billion)."

Intended to provide a series of "sound bites" that resonate within the outdoor community as well as the general public, the CSF data spotlights some of the most compelling information about hunters and anglers in every state. For example, 2.7 million people (resident and non-resident) hunted or fished in Texas in 2011, more than the population of Houston, the state's largest city (2.7 million vs 2.1 million). In addition, there are more sportsmen and women in Texas than the 2011 home attendance for the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Texans, and the Houston Rockets combined (2.7 million vs 2.4 million). Perhaps most importantly, hunters and anglers supported more jobs in Texas than Dell, the University of Texas - Austin, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the state's top three employers (65,993 vs. 59,000 jobs combined).

Nationwide, the impact is even more impressive. There are more than 37 million hunters and anglers age 16 and up in this country - about the same as the population of the entire state of California. These sportsmen and women spent $90 billion on hunting and fishing in the United States in 2011, which is comparable to the combined global sales of Apple's iPad® and iPhone® that year. In difficult economic times, it is important to note that both participation and spending by people who hunt and fish went up in 2011.

Beyond the impact to businesses and local economies, sportsmen and women are the leaders in conserving fish and wildlife and their habitats. When you combine license and stamp fees, motorboat fuels, excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment and membership contributions to conservation organizations, hunters and anglers directed $3 billion towards on-the-ground conservation and restoration efforts in 2011 - that is over $95 every second. This does not include their own habitat acquisition and restoration work for lands owned or leased for the purpose of hunting and fishing, which would add another $11 billion to the mix.